Look at her. How do I explain to her about the world without dampening her spirits? Now she sees it filled with promise and hope, as bright as the light in her eyes. But I've lived long enough to know that everything is not as it appears. Evil does exist. People do terrible things to one another. How do I protect her without losing her? How do I build a bridge between us… when the distance seems so vast?

Story Development

Synopsis

Noah considers how he can rebuild his relationship with Claire while at his apartment going over the newspaper clippings with Lauren. He doesn't know of any way to find Samuel, and Lauren warns that he's beginning to sound obsessed. She suggests he calls Claire and use her compass, but Noah refuses and snaps at her. He tries to apologize without success, and Lauren finds information on Vanessa Wheeler, a girl who grew up at the estate that fell into a sink-hole. Lauren finds footage on a security camera showing Samuel with Vanessa. They get Vanessa's California area code and Noah calls her. He introduces himself and says he wants to locate Samuel. Vanessa says she doesn't know anyone by that name, and when Noah points out that Samuel grew up on her family's estate, she hangs up. When Noah prepares to leave for California, Lauren wishes him luck and walks out.

At the Sullivan Bros. Carnival, Samuel is writing a letter next to a sketch of Vanessa when Lydia comes to his trailer. He asks her to get some new supplies to make his ink, and recognizes that she is upset by recent events such as Joseph's death, Claire, and Sylar. He pleads with her to be patient, and insists that they're close to achieving their dreams, but she wonders whether the dreams are actually Samuel's own. Samuel just smiles and says that soon he'll bring Vanessa into the carnival.

Outside, Lydia sees her daughter Amanda practicing her fire act. Amanda asks why Lydia doesn't trust Samuel, and wonders why her mother wants to cause trouble. Lydia says that they may need a new leader, remembers Samuel described a man of great compassion who could be the next Joseph. Amanda suggests that Lydia call this man, and Lydia wonders if she can. She concentrates hard and reaches out with her ability.

The next morning, Matt is making breakfast when his wife Janice comes out. She notes that her brother called and is looking to hire someone. Janice is worried that Matt has been staying home and encourages him to take a job as a computer salesman with her brother's firm. However, Matt insists that he just wants to stay home and take care of his wife and kid. Once she leaves, Noah Bennet slips in and warns that Matt's security system isn't good as it should be. He admits that the Sylar situation was a terrible idea, but now needs Matt's help against Samuel, who is trying to recruit Claire. Matt points out that Noah should talk to Claire instead of attacking Samuel, but Noah warns that Samuel could go after Matt's son next.

In Florida, Hiro and Ando arrive at Riverdale Psychiatric Hospital and Ando tries to get Hiro committed so he can get inside and rescue Mohinder. Ando isn't allowed past the gates and an orderly takes Hiro in. When he passes a door with the name "Ahmadi" on it, Hiro points at it, yelling "Dr. Watson". Once Hiro and the orderly are out of sight, Ando uses his powers to open the electronic lock then goes to the door. He sees Mohinder inside and realizes why Hiro wanted to go there.

Matt and Noah go to the auditorium in Los Angeles where Vanessa is rehearsing with her orchestra. They see her coming out and Noah approaches her. She tries to deny knowing Samuel, but he points out that he has photos of them together. Noah leads her past Matt and hints that Matt should use his powers. Matt reluctantly influences her into talking to them.

Peter calls Noah and leaves a message about the compass tattoo. As he walks down the street, he senses Emma playing the cello. He follows the sensation to her apartment and Emma explains that she used her power to draw him there. When Peter sees the compass symbol on the cello, she explains that Samuel gave it to her, and then Peter shows her the matching compass tattoo on his arm.

Vanessa tells Matt and Noah how Samuel used to write her love letters when they were young and lived on the same estate, but that she came home one day and discovered that the Sullivans had moved away. They were later reunited during her college years, when he turned up at her room one day, and began a relationship. After a couple of weeks, he asked her to marry him and come to the carnival, but she refused. Noah warns that Samuel has become more dangerous since then, and Vanessa admits that Samuel has frequently tried to contact her recently, going on about how much he misses her and how they'll be together again. Noah realizes that they can use Vanessa to bring the carnival to them. He asks Vanessa to call him the next time Samuel shows up.

Back at Peter's apartment, Peter shows Emma a newspaper clipping with a photo of Samuel and confirms that he's the man Peter knew as "William Hooper". Emma shows him the compass Samuel gave her and Peter explains that it's connected to the attack on Noah. Angela comes in and Peter introduces Emma. His mother seemingly recognizes Emma and refuses to shake her hand, and Emma quickly leaves. Once she's gone, Peter asks what is going on and Angela stares at him in shock.

In the patient's ward, Ando talks with Hiro and apologizes for misjudging him. Hiro manages to explain that Mohinder has been drugged to negate his strength. Ando tells Hiro that he'll take over, and then goes to the medication cart and replaces Mohinder's medication with aspirin. When the orderly catches him, Ando claims that he was admiring the cart. The orderly, Buck, offers to shake hands and Ando hastily sneezes and puts the pills in his mouth to cover it up. As the orderly leaves, he slaps Ando on the back, causing him to swallow the sedatives.

Noah watches from the second-story balcony of Vanessa's home as she waits for Samuel to arrive. He calls Matt, who is waiting outside, and makes sure that he's ready and is picking up the signal from the tracking chip they placed on Vanessa. Samuel slips in through the back and when Noah prepares to make his move, one of Eli's clones knocks him down. Noah shoots it with a taser and it disappears, Matt comes in and confronts another clone, but Noah stuns it, causing it to disappear as well. Samuel leaves out the back alley with Vanessa and Noah goes out the back while Matt circles around. Noah catches up to him and discovers that Vanessa is already gone. Samuel uses his power to split open the concrete between them and release a burst of dust to blind Noah long enough to escape. Matt pulls up in the SUV and they drive off, following the tracking signal.

Angela tells Peter that she had a dream, and there's nothing he can do about it. She tries to leave but Peter warns that half their family is dead and begs her to tell him the truth for once in her life. She pauses and then explains that in her dream, Emma helps to kill thousands of people and that Peter is not the one who can save her. Peter realizes that Angela isn't giving him the full story, and grasps her arm to take her power. Angela warns him that dreaming the future isn't a gift and leaves.

Hiro goes to Mohinder's door and pounds on it, trying to wake him up. Mohinder manages to recover consciousness and recognizes Hiro. He convinces Mohinder to use his strength to break out of his straitjacket and smash down the cell door. Mohinder remembers that Hiro put him there, but Hiro says they can deal with that later. He leads Mohinder toward the gate but realizes that it's guarded, so Hiro goes to the closet in the patient ward where he placed Ando. Ando is dazed from the drugs and generating sparks of energy. The alarm goes off and they get Ando into a wheelchair, and then head for the exit. The orderlies close in and Ando gets up and blasts open the door. Mohinder knocks the surprised Buck down and the trio runs out.

Matt and Noah follow the tracer signal into the countryside and find an empty field. The tracer signal disappears and Noah finds a carnival poster lying on the ground. Noah explains that the carnival can disappear, and that Claire has a compass that can be used to find it. Matt wants to get it from Claire, but Noah refuses. He insists they'll find the carnival, somehow.

Noah and Matt return to Matt's house. Noah tries to call Lauren and then admits to Matt that he's running out of ideas. Matt would rather make supper and doesn't want to get involved in Vanessa's disappearance. He insists that it's bigger than both of them, but Noah says that if Matt is not a coward, he should not duck his responsibilities. Matt says that maybe the best they can do is put their own houses in order, and tells Noah to go home and hug his little girl.

Peter sleeps, and dreams that Emma is playing the cello inside the House of Mirrors at the carnival. People are screaming and Emma is growing increasingly panicked. Sylar appears in the dream and tells Emma that he's come to save her. He reaches toward her and Emma smiles... and Peter wakes up.

Emma is considering the cello when her door light flashes. She lets Peter in and he goes over and smashes the cello. He explains that he had a dream where a lot of people die and that the cello was involved. Emma is shocked and angry and tells him to get out. Peter tries to apologize but she tells him goodbye and he walks out. Once he's gone, she strokes the broken cello and bursts into tears.

Hiro, Mohinder, and a recovering Ando make their way through the swamps. Mohinder is ready to leave Hiro behind until Ando explains that Hiro has only a little more time to live before the brain tumor kills him. The police close in and the trio runs off. As they run, Ando explains that Hiro's brain is scrambled and he can't teleport. Mohinder get an idea and calls them to a halt, and then suggests that Ando use his powers to shock Hiro's brain and unscramble his mind. Ando warns that Hiro saw a future where Ando used red lightning to kill him. When Mohinder points out that this vision showed Japan and they're now in Florida, Ando agrees to try. After being shocked, Hiro regains his senses, takes the two of them, and teleports them away just in time.

Noah goes to Claire's dorm room and claims he was just passing, before admitting that he has just returned from California. He says that he isn't there to talk her out of being mad at him, but Claire cuts to the chase and asks why he is there. Noah admits that he's torched most of his bridges, but hopes the one connecting him to her can be repaired. Claire says that she is late for an appointment but asks if she can talk with him later. Noah agrees and offers her a lift, and Claire says that she's fine.

Janice and Matt are having supper with their son, Matt Jr., and Janice praises Matt's cooking. She asks what he did during the day and Matt asks her if she thinks he's a coward. Matt believes that he must be, because that he had Sylar in his head but didn't do anything to stop him once he escaped. He tells Janice that he's let his friends down by refusing to face the world and solve some of the problems he caused. Janice says that he has to let the rest of it be, and there's nothing cowardly about looking after his family. Matt agrees and Janice embraces him.

At the carnival at Samuel's trailer, Eli watches over Vanessa until Samuel brings her some tea. She asks to go home and feels she has been kidnapped. Samuel admits that he had envisioned that everything would be perfect when she arrived, but believes Noah got to her first. Vanessa has no idea what he's talking about and points out that Samuel is the one keeping her captive. When she tries to go, Samuel grabs her. he claims he has something beautiful to show her, and promises to take her back to California after she sees it, if she still wants to go.

Noah puts the photo of Vanessa up on his board. Lauren arrives at his doorstep and says she saw the light was on and decided to come up. Noah admits that the trip to California wasn't as fruitful as he had hoped. He then says that he cares for her more than he wants to admit, but it's complicated. Lauren tells him not to snap at her again, and Noah leans forward and kisses her. Hiro, Mohinder, and Ando suddenly teleport in. Hiro apologizes for interrupting and Noah greets them with a "Hello, boys."

Memorable Quotes

"You know, some days maybe you just can't save the whole world. Maybe you're better off getting your own house in order."

Trivia

In this episode Noah does the opening narration, rather than Mohinder, This is the fifth time the narration is spoken by a character other than the geneticist (the first being Linderman in .07%, the second being Nathan in Angels and Monsters, the third being Sylar in Dual, and the fourth being Samuel in Orientation). Because Heroes was cancelled, this was the final narration of the series.

Hiro makes references to several elements from sci-fi and fantasy stories, including:

In the original script, the scene depicting Peter's dream of Emma playing the cello at the carnival calls for blood to be "clearly" dripping from Emma's fingers. No such blood was evident in the filmed version of the scene. Later, in The Art of Deception, a similar dream shows blood on Emma's fingers.